Wake Up
by rosieelfgirl
Summary: Walking around in broad daylight with a death warrant over his head, working with a group of people who weren't meant to exist and being followed by the most powerful Mage in existence...was fast becoming a normal day for Kurogane. KuroFai AU


_**Wake Up**_

"This world is drifting toward chaos."

Sunlight dripped lazily from the sky. Weaving through buildings that aimed for the stars, sliding through windows and painting patterns across the ground. Darkness sliced through the light as blank faced hypocrites walked, leaving a trail of nothingness.

"I wonder, how long it will be."

Shouts of screaming demons cut into the walls. The rich smiled lazily as they travelled through the highlighted streets accompanied by those things they would once have died for. The poor wore fake smiles as the worked, their insides bleeding and their hearts breaking. Eyes watched each other, waiting for the moment they could attack.

"Until they realise."

Small voices skimmed over the foggy layer of hypocrisy begging to be heard. A lone figure stood atop a tall golden building, layers of fabric twisting in the wind. The building under him inhabited by those blank faced hypocrites. The figurers eyes watched as the world went by. A world of grey.

Watching. Waiting. Waking.

"Everyone, must wake up." the lonely soul said.

Wake Up

A young male wandered the streets of what was know to the rest of the world as the Colossal-City, also known as Colossal. Colossal was so big that a trip across town was a 5 day journey, if you were lucky, you could be born in Colossal and never have to leave. There were so many residents in Colossal that they had been made an official race, a race known for extravagance and greed.

The City was the centre of all technological advancement, but it also kept a sense of the old. Narrow alleys, glistening canals, ornate arches, mosaics and statues merged effortlessly with hovering platforms, holographic adverts, light up walls and numerous other contraptions.

The young man looked to be around twenty years old, he walked with a casual air, striding along, hands in his pockets. He was clothed in black trousers, a mixture of belts and chains, lace up ankle boots, a short sleeved black and dark red striped shirt with a black waistcoat. His shoulders were covered in a black military style coat, studded with silver. Red eyes scowled forward.

He flicked his black hair slightly, naturally tanned skin absorbing the sun.

The buzz of yet another day in the giant metropolis reverberated inside his ears. The man turned down a side alley, unphased by the intricate lights glowing in the wall, and swiftly dodged one of the many forms of transportation this town used. It's steady hum growing fainter the further he walked.

The man looked up at the sky. It seemed so far away. So lonely. Only a narrow strip of blue sky showing between the piled up buildings, weaving in-between marble domes and glass blocks. He turned his gaze back to the cobbled floor, feet thudding down upon mosaics every minute or so.

He reached a cross roads and continued straight on, paying little attention to the bleeding, unrecognisable body slumped in a doorway. He walked toward a ring of archways, slipped through one. Shimmering lights washing over his body as he held out a purple talisman.

He appeared in a different part of the city, those archways were teleports. Rings of them were dotted around the city. This one deposited him in an abandoned building. It was the talisman that did it, as long as he was holding it in his hand any teleport, no matter it's programmed destination, would always take him here.

He quickly traversed the building. Long legs jumping swiftly onto a raised platform which slid up into the air depositing him by a narrow bridge.

The man wandered across, ignoring the long drop below him, in a way the seemed practised. He climbed down a stone ladder carved into the wall, face sprayed gently with light droplets dancing off one of the seven-hundred narrow waterfalls that fell from the city. He jumped from the ladder, landing on a small rocky outcrop. He quickly jumped from that, landing on one lower down.

He turned to face a nondescript, slightly yellowing wall.

"Oi." He said, seemingly to himself. "It's Kurogane, and I know you can see me, so open the god damn door." A portion of the wall slid back, smoothly slipping away. No sound was heard. Kurogane walked into the darkness, not hearing the wall slide back into place.

"_Hello~ Kurogane~_" came an automated voice. Kurogane scowled, "Shut up Mokona!" he yelled, eyes blinking when lights slowly faded into existence. The sound of trickling water reached his ears.

"_Kyaah~ Kurogane's so mean to Mokona!"_

The black haired man sighed, "You're a bloody computer programme! Why are you so annoying?"

"_Because that's how Yuuko made me~"_ came the expected reply.

Kurogane walked into a cavernous room, the source of the water sound was a small stream running straight through the middle. The water wound it's way around a large plinth. Sat atop the plinth was a complicated arrangement of computers, large screens (most of which bore real time images of the city) and various technological objects, each glowing different colours or flickering in a different way.

A woman was there too. Sat amongst the technology, her long black hair cascading down the back of her chair. "You really _should_ be nicer to Mokona you know." she said, turning to face the man behind her, red eyes teasing. "It could burn you to a crisp if it wanted to. Or slice you in half, remove all the bones from your body, drown you..." she continued to list off all manner of things.

Kurogane had stopped listening. It wasn't as if he hadn't heard it all before.

"Where's everyone else?" he asked, interrupting the woman's speech. She huffed in mock anger, "Even interrupting me. _Me. _I have it in my right mind to let you drop through the floor!" Kurogane heard the ever present Mokona laugh.

"Just give me a god damn answer Yuuko." The red eyed man snapped, anger rising at the sight of the giggling woman. Watching silently as she played around with a few of the control panels, intricate clothing flipping around her wrists. A blown up image of a room, or more correctly a hall, appeared on the main screen.

Two teenagers were poured over a weird contraption, occasionally speaking or looking over at blueprints. Confusion was written across their faces. "It seems as if Sakura and Syoaran are in the hanger. I think they've been there all night." Kurogane rolled his eyes. That didn't surprise him, Yuuko had probably given them some unbelievably hard task to do again.

Yuuko Ichihara lived in this place as far as Kurogane knew. She ran this whole operation, was a terrible alcoholic, perverted and completely nuts. However she had an in depth knowledge about her that often, although he wouldn't admit it, scarred him a little. Yuuko was an information gatherer, she could access any information needed but only if she was given the correct payment.

The screen changed again. Showing the image of a lithe boy with black hair, wandering down a corridor that looked just like the one Kurogane had just come down, accompanied by a tanned boy with golden eyes.

"Ah! And here's Watanuki now!" Yuuko exclaimed, turning her chair to face the boys who just entered the room. The black haired one seemed to be arguing, if you could call yelling at some one and getting zero response arguing, with the golden eyed one. Despite all the flailing of limbs and _very_ loud yelling, the taller remained impassive with one finger plugged in his ear in an attempt to block out the noise.

"Oh Watanuki~" called Yuuko. Watanuki's mismatched eyes swivelled to meets Yuuko's behind rimless glasses. "Good morning." he said, almost reluctantly, scratching behind one of his pointed ears. _"How's our little elf this morning?"_ chimed in Mokona again. Watanuki began to yell animatedly at the, ironically, inanimate voice.

Kimihiro Watanuki was an elf from one of the Eastern continents outside the city. He was reasonably tall and was known for wild mood swings, which could often be predicted by the slight twitching of his pointed ears. Because of Watanuki's elven blood, Kurogane had been told, he contained outstanding spiritual powers, however the red eyed man had yet to see them.

The tanned boy pulled his finger from his ear and offered a, "Morning." to Kurogane, who returned it with a silent nod.

Shizuka Doumeki, Watanuki's stoic companion. According to Yuuko, Doumeki had accompanied the pale elf on his journey from his home to Colossal-City and saved him numerous times when the Nobles had turned on the Elven Ambassadors, and any elves, who had been residing in the city. Doumeki himself wasn't an elf, he was just a normal human who had got muddled up in the situation.

"What about Touya and Yukito?" Kurogane asked, silently hoping this would shut Watanuki up. Yuuko turned to look at him, evil grin adorning her face, "I can show you what they're up to if you really wan-"

"No." Kurogane dead panned. He ran a hand through his short black hair. "Can you just tell me why I'm here?" He pinched at the bridge of his nose as a small mechanical butterfly flitted past his face, leaving long trails of light in it's wake. That was one of Yuuko's 'spies', they supplied the video feed to the screens.

The butterfly settled on a perch engraved into the wall next to it's identical companions.

Yuuko turned to smile at the assembled men, "The nobles," Her pale hand slid effortlessly across a smooth panel, the largest screen revealing a large dome. The roof made of glass, a large balcony could be seen overhanging an oversized dance floor. Everything was trimmed in gold. People were rushing around, like ants inside an upturned fish tank.

"Are having a party." Yuuko finished, white teeth flashing in a cunning smile.

~WakeUp~

"Put the blue flowers in the _silver_ vases!" a voice snapped. Echoing sounds of hurried organised chaos rang throughout the dome, casually dressed people flitted across the marble floors. Flowers were dotted around the room, decorations screaming expense were placed poetically. Tables littered the hall, boxes of intricately designed crystal glasses sat underneath them.

"Careful!" called another, slightly softer voice. This instruction was aimed at a group of workers unrolling a think blue carpet atop the balcony. The owner of the first voice winced, purple eyes narrowing as he heard the sound of a large thud and then a crash.

He turned slowly to glower at the source of the noise. His companion watched silently as the workers righted the table and finished rolling out the carpet, "Is everyone okay?" the green eyed one asked. There were some nods.

"Get back to work then." snapped the harsher tones of the first man.

"You really shouldn't be too harsh on them Kamui." said the more placid of the two. Kamui turned to face his companion, now that the two were so close it was plain to see they barred an abnormal familiarity to the other. Identical, some may even go as far to say.

"And perhaps you shouldn't be so nice, Subaru." Kamui said, grinning slightly at his twin. "We will never learn will we?" Subaru said. "I suppose not." replied the other.

Kamui and Subaru, referred to as _'The Vampire Twins' _by the general public_._ They _weren't_ vampires, as far as everyone knew, however if Angles and Elves existed why not vampires?

Though the twins themselves were high in the noble society, residing in one of the upper circles surrounding the palace, they preferred to partake in the jobs normally done by those below them. No one was quite sure why, only they themselves seemed to know.

Slowly the young men descended the stairs into the larger hall below them, Kamui slipping out a few more orders, before they quietly made their way outside.

Identical faces turned to face the sky. Yet another unnecessary party for those greedy auspicious nobles. There was a difference this time however, this particular night of fantasy was in celebration of the current King.

A celebration of King Ashura's tenth year of rule.

The twins stood side by side, staring up at the sky. A perfectly blue sky, no clouds loitered on it's surface. It was beautiful. But oh how lonely it seemed, all on it's own. An ever expanding mass of pure sapphire. Not even a single bird flew up into it's open arms.

~WakeUp~

"And _why_ should we care?" asked Kurogane, a little irritable as usual. Yuuko merely grinned, "Oh we don't. It's got nothing to do with us. But that won't stop us attending, invitation or not."

Kurogane couldn't help the sly smirk that appeared on his face, "So we're going to gate crash huh?" The prospect of ruining another one of those uptight, pompous bastards parties danced across his desire. It had been along long time since the tanned, well built, male had gotten a chance to cut loose.

Yuuko chuckled, "I'm afraid not Kurogane." The man huffed, clearly not bothered about letting his anger show through. Yuuko snickered at him, swaying over and prodding him in the chest. "Nawww~ Did poor little Kurogane want to hurt something again?~"

"Fuck of bitch!" The man snarled.

The woman and the machine giggled in unison.

"So...What exactly _are_ we doing?" asked Watanuki. The taller man glanced over at the, now quieter, elf. Yuuko had that look in her eyes again, the look that said there would be a lot of explaining. Kurogane sighed and silently positioned himself against the wall, watching through one eye as Doumeki shifted into his usual place behind the elf, always with golden eyes eyeing the surroundings, perhaps out of habit.

"We're infiltrating," Yuuko stated, "No violence per say. We're just there to...keep an eye on things...make sure the nobles don't do anything stupid."

"Nobles. Not doing something stupid? The world must have gone mad." came a sarcastic voice.

"I think what Touya means to say is 'Good Morning'." said another voice.

Kurogane flicked his eyes to a smirking black haired man and a smiling wheat blonde haired man hidden behind large glasses.

"Nah. I'm pretty sure I meant what I said, Yukito." Touya said, winking slyly.

Touya was once a noble who, along with his sister Sakura, had fled from the upper circle surrounding the palace. Kurogane didn't know the reasons, he assumed it was something to do with King Ashura or Emperor Fei-Wong Reed.

"Now now," said Yuuko, chuckling and Yukito's blushing face, "No flirting during work hours."

Yukito, a man who's magic powers Kurogane had witnessed. Yukito had originally been a priest, but there had been 'complications' (whatever that meant) and had thus ended up here, with this rag tag bunch of strangers each with their own story, acting as healer. Yukito wasn't powerful, he was 'blessed' with healing powers, but didn't have the same magic level as Watanuki...or at least that's what Kurogane had been told.

Kurogane sighed as chatter filled his ears. His red eyes flicked around the room, taking in the environment he had memorised long ago.

"Oi! I haven't got all day." He snapped when Yuuko began to break open a bottle of liquor. She turned to smile at him, "Your right. You don't."

Kurogane's eyes narrowed, "Is it just me or did that sound suspiciously ominous?" he asked no one in particular. Such ominous things usually came out of Yuuko Ichihara's mouth, they were all used to them by now.

"Will you just tell me what we're going to do, _witch_." Kurogan snarled, unhappy with the mischievous look on the black haired woman's face. She weaved her fingers together and gave him a calculating look.

Watanuki shifted uneasily, fabric swishing together. Doumeki glanced and the fidgety elf. Yukito pushed his glasses up further and Touya cracked a single knuckle. The inhuman voice of Mokona sighed and Kurogane tapped his foot.

Yuuko smiled brightly, "Alright! I think I've left you in suspense long enough. This is what we're doing."

~WakeUp~

Darkness.

That's what the hooded figure enclosed himself in.

He wondered slowly through the darkness, probing out with his senses, searching.

It was dank where the figure was, his pale skin would have shone like a beacon if there had been even the slightest light. The figure could create light, if he wanted too, however the darkness was so comforting.

No one could hurt him down here. In the dark, with only the persistent sound of trickling water to keep him company. No one could use him and no one would break him. In the darkness he could no longer see their faces, and they could no longer gaze upon his.

The figure turned around a corner which he knew was there from experience. His right hand trailed along the wall, gloved fingers tracing over dents which had been there long before he had. His left hand was wound around a thin staff, the end making rhythmic splashes as it hit the ground.

Steadily a light began to creep up on him, or was he creeping up upon it? Was he trying to grab at the elusive ribbon of light? Perhaps both, quite possibly neither.

The figure didn't care as he reached the light. He didn't care as he looked out upon the views. He didn't care as sun light flooded his face. He didn't care because, as he stared up at the blue sky, he felt so empty. Everyone else felt free as they looked at the sky, at least that was what the figure had heard, but not him.

As he stared in to clear blue skies, watching as nothing moved, being swallowed by the size of it, he simply felt alone. As if he were the only one in the world, as if everyone else had left with out him knowing.

So lonely.

~WakeUp~

Kurogane sighed.

Mokona giggled.

Touya rolled his eyes.

Yukito smiled nervously.

Watanuki blinked.

Doumeki remained stoic.

Yuuko began to talk.

"The main reason we're attending this little shindig," she began, twirling around in her chair, "is so that we can make sure the Noble's don't do anything so stupid that they can't clear it up."

"Define stupid." said Touya, looking curiously at the red eyed woman. Yuuko played with one of her impeccable nails, "Oh I don't know...signing treaties...organising wars...hiring unneeded assassins...spending more money that the economy doesn't have...that sort of thing."

Kurogane knew first hand what those greedy and often emotionally unstable nobles could do when they were drunk enough. He knew, and he hated them for it.

Kurogane clenched his fist.

They thought that just because they had more money that others they could do whatever they wanted, they believed themselves superior to everyone else just because they were born into money. None of them deserved the royalties they owned, none of them worked for them, none of them even desired them any more. It was just a case of possession and power.

But they were worst when you knew of their inner workings. When they slaughtered whole villages for amusement. When they stole teenagers and even children away from their homes to be used as sex slaves. When they made lovers fight each other to the death for their own sick pleasure, laughing as the two people cried out their fears, neither knowing what to do, neither wanting to live in a world without the other but neither wanting to leave the other alone.

Kurogane Suwa hated the Nobles, every single last one of them.

"Uh Yuuko?" chipped in Watanuki, fumbling with the corner of his shirt, "You do realise none of us can show our faces in public, right?"

Watanuki had a point. If any of them were seen by the Noble, Royal or Emperial Guard they would probably be killed on the spot.

Mokona giggled again, _"That's why you'll be wearing masks! It's a masquerade! Plus Yuukito and Touya won't be attending~"_ Five sets of eyes turned to face the smiling information gatherer.

She sighed, "Kurogane, Watanuki and Doumeki will be attending. Watanuki's had experience with these things, Doumeki makes a great wallflower and Kurogane's for safety." she explained, "Touya, Yukito your on reconnaissance, you know just in case theses guys make a mess of things again.

Kurogane frowned, "What about Sakura and Syaoran?" he asked. Touya scowled at the mention of his sisters name, daring anyone to say that she should so much as lift a finger. Yuuko turned to smile at the over bearing brother.

"That's not important at the moment." she said slyly, implying that there was an important role for the two of them. However said role was on a need to know basis.

The information gatherer turned to face Kurogane, "I want you to go fetch your disguises from Tomoya."

The dark haired man visibly blanched, "Why me?" he asked, removing as much emotion from his voice as possible. Knowing that if he let even the tiniest wisps of annoyance, fear and confusion wind their way in, the red eyed woman would pick up in it in an instant.

"Because. I want to see if the person who followed you here, can follow you there."

The other occupants of the room blinked.

"What? You must be going senile because I _know_ when someone is tailing me. And _no one_ was tailing me this morning." Kurogane said, steadfast in his knowledge that only the occasional device of Yuuko's could actually track him down and tail him.

Yuuko smirked at him, "Really? My Butterflies tell me different." She clicked her fingers and a video of Kurogane walking down an alley played through.

"Am I supposed to be seeing something out of the ordinary here...aside from the corpse in the corner?" the tall man said, a sigh evident in his voice.

"Well no. Otherwise you would have seen them before. But watch what happens when I switch to the Red Butterfly..."

Kurogane briefly remembered that the red ones tracked heat, or something like that. He could barely suppress a gasp as a distinct yellow, red silhouette of a figure which was walking no more than three foot behind his own.

"What the-" Kurogane began, only to be interrupted by Watanuki "That's an Invisible Walk isn't it?" he asked.

The majority of the group looked even more confused. The elf turned to study the screen, moving closer and peering beneath rimless glasses. "Yes. It definitely is. But it takes an awful lot of magical power to create and hold an Invisible Walk, let alone keep it secure for the amount of time they were following you..."

He let his sentence trail off as the figure stopped moving. The group watched as Kurogane disappeared into the portal, his heat shimmering out of focus. The, apparently invisible, figure stopped momentarily.

"Are they done?" Touya asked, Yuuko shook her head.

Suddenly, without any warning, the figure disappeared.

"What in the- That...that must have been a Tracer and A Teleportation spell performed within five seconds?" Watanuki exclaimed, "_And_ they managed to hold the Invisible Walk too?" he cried upon seeing the figure appear behind Kurogane again.

Obviously no one seemed to understand the elves outburst.

"Excuse me. Watanuki, we're not all as _skilled_ in the magic arts as you are. Care to elaborate on what the hell you just said?"

Pointed ears pricked in annoyance. Touya was wary of Watanuki's so-called-powers, much like Kurogane, he had never witnessed them and was highly doubtful that they even existed. Which was something he liked to bring up, all the time, to see if he could get a reaction out of the younger man.

"_Sorry,_" Watanuki said icily, "Basically; whoever this person is, they've just performed two spells at the same time. Now in retrospect this isn't difficult...for example one could easily create a fire and a strong wind at the same time. However, an 'Invisibility Spell' is one of the hardest spells to master and involves a high level of concentration...a concentration that would be broken if you tried to perform another spell..."

The majority of the room looked blankly at him, "I'm not making sense to anyone am I?" he asked.

"Nope!" replied Yuuko cheerily, relishing in the elf's annoyed sigh.

"Can you lot cut the magic crap and tell me what the fuck's going on?" the tall, dark man asked.

Yuuko shook her head, "That's just it. For once I can't actually tell you what somebody's up to. And I believe it would be better for me to observe rather than get directly involved with the situation..."

The room was silent except for the sound of running water, the whirs of machines and the occasional tap as another Butterfly left or returned to it's shelf.

"Anywho!" Yuuko said, clapping her hands, "Off you go. Go on children, go do your work~" and with that she turned back to her screens and said no more.

Kurogane grumbled turned on his heel and began to stride purposfully down a corridor, quickly throwing "You know this'll probably get me killed right?" over his shoulder.

Once again Mokona giggled.

~WakeUp~

Kurogane was nearing the entrance to the underground tunnels that would lead him to his destination.

As he stepped down into the dank, dark, grimy tunnels he sighed. Kurogane wasn't a fussy man, he really wasn't, but travelling through tunnels with about a foot and a half of walkway, and a steadily flowing stream of water wasn't his idea of fun.

"At least it's not the sewers this time." he mumbled, flicking a lamp into existence.

Watery yellow spread across the walls, highlighting the grim stone and all of the marks of time it bared. It highlighted the tough lichen, glanced over the scars and the area where bits of rock had been chipped away by the smugglers and fugitives that used this tunnel. It gave light to the areas which had simply weathered away over time.

But most importantly, it showed Kurogane the signs which, if you didn't know they were there, were easily overlooked. These signs lead the tall man toward his goal.

Toward a young woman named Tomoya.

The man, hidden behind flickering shadows, began his journey through the tunnels. It was practically a guarantee that he wouldn't bump into anyone. No-one used the specific route he was taking, there was no need. After all, it didn't go anywhere but to a humble seamstresses shop.

Well there was always a chance of him meeting this mysterious Mage who had, apparently, been following him since this morning. This guy really had no reason to be following him. He wasn't an important person, he had never done anything that would make him the enemy of a Mage.

Pushing his musings for his mind, Kurogane continued his steady pace. Listening for anything out of the ordinary, he wasn't doing that on purpose, it was just a habit he had picked up over the years.

As he passed a connecting tunnel, he felt something move. But it wasn't something in particular, it was almost as if the _air itself_ had moved. His step never faltered, he didn't turn around and he certainly wasn't frightened.

He continued his purposeful movement, features set in determination. Waiting. Listening.

He could hear everything. The soft rush of water. The tiny taps of various insects and rodents, which were paired with the shifting of stone and earth. The trickles of liquid leaking from the walls and the occasional crumbling of old stone. He could hear his breathing, the sound of his clothes and the thud of his feet.

Everything was seemingly normal. Until he heard one sound. A splash. It wasn't uncommon for their to be splashes, all manner of creatures lived down here and would fall into the water every so often.

But this was different. This was rythmic. _Splash_. Kurogane took two steps. _Splash_. Another two steps, and there it was again.

The tall man steeled himself, fighting against the urge to whip out the sword that he had strapped to his hip or to clasp his fingers around the gun attached to his belt. As much as he wanted to turn around and hurt whoever it was hidden behind him, he didn't.

He simply stopped.

He turned slowly to face an empty tunnel, "Show yourself." he stated calmly. The world around him remained empty, but he felt as if he were being watched.

He sighed, scanning the surroundings one last time before reaching down to his sword, "Show yourself, now. Or I start hunting you down." He growled, annoyance displayed openly on his face.

There was a soft chuckle, that came from no further than three foot in front of him. It sounded almost musical, like the wind.

There was a slight distortion in the air, causing him to blink.

Kurogane was met with a very strange sight.

There was a man, at least he thought it was a man, stood there. He wasn't nearly as tall as Kurogane, but held himself with an air that made him seem equal, he was skinny, but seemed to hide lean muscle beneath a long robe.

Kurogane scanned the figure again. The long white robe he wore was immaculately clean, as if he hadn't just tailed him through the sewer system. His face was hidden in the shadow of an overly large hood.

"Who... are you?"

**Authors Note:**

Basically, I only have one chapter of this written. I know where it's going and I like the idea, but I dunno if I should continue it or focus on getting Playing The Part finished...which is taking longer than expected, due to lack of motivation.

So tell me...

Do you want more of _'__**Wake Up'**_?


End file.
